Foster Care Adoption in Kansas

It’s estimated that there are more than 5,000 children in Kansas foster care, about 900 of whom are eligible for adoption. Most children waiting for adoption are at least 10 years old or are part of a sibling group.

Only when it becomes clear that a reunification is no longer a possibility for a child, and that there are no other biological family members able to provide care, will a child become eligible for Kansas foster care adoption following the court’s termination of parental rights.

While American Adoptions focuses on the placement of healthy newborns and does not provide foster care adoption services, foster care and adoption can be great family-building options for parents in Kansas. Here, learn more about foster care adoption in Kansas to determine whether it’s right for your family.

Types of Foster Parenting

There are three different ways to become involved in the foster care system for prospective parents, some of which involve adoption for a permanent parent-child relationship.

1. Foster Parenting

Foster parents provide a temporary safe and loving home for children in Kansas foster care. These children need the care of a stable and supportive adult while they’re waiting to be reunited with their biological family or to be adopted.

2. Foster to Adopt in Kansas

For those who intend to foster to adopt in Kansas, you first become a foster parent for a child with the potential to adopt them should they become eligible. While most children in Kansas foster care don’t ever become eligible for adoption, priority when considering adoptive parents is generally given first to any other biological family members who might be able to care for the child, and then to the foster parents who’ve been caring for him or her.

3. Adopting through Foster Care in Kansas

When adopting through foster care, you don’t always have to become a foster parent first. Instead, you can request to only be matched with children who are already eligible for and awaiting adoption.

Kansas Foster Care Adoption Subsidies

The amount of financial assistance that you’ll receive as a foster parent or adoptive parent through state-funded adoption subsidies will vary based primarily on the needs of the child(ren) you adopt, but most families who complete a Kansas foster care adoption are eligible for some kind of adoption assistance.

Some foster care agencies may have additional requirements for foster parents, or they may require you to complete training hours with in-house professionals. Defer to your foster care agency with any questions about what it takes to become a foster parent with them.

Who Can Be Adopted from Foster Care?

A parent may terminate their parental rights voluntarily, or the court may involuntarily terminate them if the parent fails to follow through on the court-mandated requirements to be reunited with their child, or if the court believes that termination of parental rights is in the best interest of the child.

Until parental rights are terminated, a child is not eligible for a Kansas foster care adoption. After the age of 18, children “age out” of foster care, but some foster parents who previously fostered a child may choose to make their relationship permanent with an adult adoption.

Your Kansas foster care agency will be able to connect you to most of the resources that you’ll need. They’ll help you find local foster parent training resources, legal counsel if you wish to foster to adopt in Kansas, and more.

If you need any additional help getting started in your adoption journey, you can always call 1-800-ADOPTION for free adoption information.

DisclaimerInformation available through these links is the sole property of the companies and organizations listed therein. America Adoptions, Inc. provides this information as a courtesy and is in no way responsible for its content or accuracy.

American Adoptions, a private adoption agency founded on the belief that lives of children can be bettered through adoption, provides safe adoption services to children, birth parents and adoptive families by educating, supporting and coordinating necessary services for adoptions throughout the United States. For more information on American Adoptions, please call 1-800-ADOPTION (236-7846)